NASCAR Cup Series

'One to go': Richmond is last chance for many drivers to save season

Published Sep. 4, 2014 10:45 a.m. ET

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Darrell Waltrip

Trust me, as a driver there is no sweeter sound than when you are leading and take the white flag, which signifies the last lap of a race, and either the crew chief or your spotter comes across the radio and says, "One to go and you're pulling away." It is music to a driver's ears.

That is sort of where Kasey Kahne in the No. 5 car found himself at the end of the race Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That poor team has struggled and been snake-bit all season long. Until Sunday night they were on the outside looking in to the 2014 Chase. Even when you think nothing could go wrong for the No. 5 car, something did when Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch got all tangled up and created a green-white-checkered finish. It looked like once again the No. 5 was going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Now it could have been that way, but as we all know the racing gods smiled on Kasey for a change and he went on to win his first race of the season, and with only one race now left in the 2014 regular season, he has cemented his spot to make a run for the championship.

You have to admit we had screwed up restarts all night long, not just on the final one for the green-white-checkered finish. The outside lane over and over again had issues on restarts. It didn't matter when it was Sunday night or who it was. The outside lane simply couldn't keep up with the inside lane on those restarts. The tires would spin on the lead car in the outside lane and that would make like an accordion-effect backing up the entire outside lane.

When it counted the most with the race on the line, it happened yet again. Paul Menard had an issue on the restart, which backed up Kevin Harvick. The first thing you know he got into him and then all heck broke loose. Now you have to remember, up to that point Kevin had been the dominant car for two days. He dominated and won the Nationwide race on Saturday, and while he dominated Sunday night, that last restart cost him another win.

That's why we run the race. That's why, in Sunday night's case, we run all 500 miles. It isn't over until the flagman waves the checkered flag. You have to run them all, and for the first time this season Kasey came out on top.

Interestingly, pit stops seem to once again in 2014 be Kevin's Achilles' heel, but his pit crew actually had a really solid night. It just seemed that the No. 11 and the No. 20 were a touch better. Now Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 had his advantage by having his pit as the first pit coming off of Turn 4. So Matt had the right pit and that benefited him.

It was the No. 11 pit that really caught my attention. There was something with Denny Hamlin's air guns that my eyes and ears picked up on. That bunch had sub-12 second pit stops all night long. If you listened closely, you could tell the air guns in the No. 11 pit were making a totally different sound than the other teams. They sounded so smooth which is opposite of the normal rattling you hear from an air gun in action. They were smooth as silk and strong as steel, is how I like to look at it.

People tried to say it was the same equipment they've had all year long. I'm just here to tell you that my eyes don't deceive me and my ears don't mislead me, so I'm pretty sure you will find that something was a little different there that was just enough to give those guys a slight edge. Just like everything else in our sport, teams are always searching for an advantage.

You work on the setups, you work on the bodies, you work in the wind tunnel, you work on the computer simulations and you literally search for ways to make you faster. There are always places you can gain time, and one of the best places is when you are sitting still in that pit box. I just think you'll find that the No. 11 bunch has come up with a way to reduce or eliminate the amount of recoil in their air guns that lets the tire changers work smoother and faster.

It was a great race and it was really fun to watch. I felt bad for Kevin. Like I mentioned earlier, he was the dominant car for the second night in a row at Atlanta, but unlike Saturday, he didn't come home with the win. People chased Kevin all night long and it really seemed like it was his race to lose, but unfortunately he did.

Did you also see the weird thing that happened to Kevin Sunday night? Now some folks said it was a squirrel that ran across the track in front of Kevin. Atlanta Motor Speedway has since released a picture of a black cat named Shaky Leg that lives behind the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office. Personally, I don't think it was either.

I think it was our long-lost buddy Digger. The reason I say that is because it was Atlanta where we actually lost Digger. It was a few years ago when our NASCAR on FOX team was on a little team-bonding field trip. Digger disappeared and we never knew what happened to him but just assumed he went out so sow some wild oats.

Was it really Shaky Leg the black cat that ran across the track Sunday night in Atlanta?

So I believe it wasn't Shaky Leg the black cat as the Atlanta Motor Speedway folks would have you believe. I think Digger has resurfaced. So he is still around, but we need to get him back on the job. Who knows, maybe we get ol' Digger back to work on TV next year! If nothing else, at least we know he is alive, and that's the main thing.

I, like the rest of the sport, loved the fact that Tony Stewart got back behind the wheel of his No. 14 car. I think it got Tony back in his comfort zone. He got him back home with those who love him. You all know this, when you are hurting there is no better place to be than at home.

In the NASCAR world, home to most of us is that racetrack. That's where our family is. That's where the folks that care about and love us the most are. When we aren't feeling well or we are hurting or going through a tragedy in our life, we like to be surrounded by people that love us. That's where Tony was this past weekend.

He was pretty speedy in all the practices and he qualified 12th. He also ran really well early in the race until he and Kyle Busch got together. Sure, it wasn't the finish we were all hoping for from Tony but no matter, the weekend was a success. I just hope Tony took notice of the fan reaction. It didn't matter if it was practice, qualifying or the race itself, the fans screamed their heads off for Tony.

You all know that over the many years in the sport that I like to kid about NASCAR's EIRI in the rule book, which stands for "Except in Rare Instances." In this case I applaud them for making the right call and giving Tony a chance to still make the 2014 Chase. If there was ever a "rare instance" where the rule definitely applied, it was to Tony.

I've beat the drum for years that a race team should be allowed a substitute driver for a couple weeks like a backup quarterback in the NFL. If a driver gets hurt or a driver has some type of tragedy happen in his or her life where they need to be out of the car for a couple weeks, then where is the harm in allowing that? Why should the sponsors, the team owner and the team have their possible championship-winning season go down the drain because their driver is sick or injured for a couple weeks? I just never understood that.

Now understand that NASCAR didn't put Tony in the 2014 Chase. They simply gave him a waiver on a rule where if he were to win either last Sunday night or this Saturday night at Richmond, that he qualifies for the Chase just like any other winning driver.

Is it a long shot? Sure it is because Tony is dealing and trying to process a very heavy burden right now. We all should be absolutely thrilled he's simply back in the race car. I know I am. I love the guy and he needs all our support to come out on the other side of this tragedy.

I also want to remind you of one thing. This is Tony Stewart we are talking about. The man has shown us time and time again his God-given talent behind the wheel. He can win any time, anywhere. I've seen him run awfully well at Richmond. Let's be clear, he has to win the race to be able to take advantage of the opportunity NASCAR has offered him. It's a pretty tall order but if there was ever anyone I needed to go win one race for me, it would be Tony hands-down.

I just think it would be such a positive if he could win Saturday night in Richmond and make the Chase. Yes, it is a long shot but I just know it would mean so much to everyone in our sport from the sanctioning body, to his competitors and to the fans if he could pull it off. Mostly it would do a world of good mentally for Anthony Wayne Stewart. Please don't lose sight of the fact that Tony hasn't been dealing with only the tragedy of the past month. Remember that he is still recovering from a horrible crash last year that sidelined him for a big portion of the 2013 season and also literally threatened his career.

So we'll all see how that plays out Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Even if you were to take Tony's storyline out of the equation, there is absolutely no doubt that Richmond is going to be a wild race. There are only two spots left undecided to set the field of 16 to start the championship run next week.

There are a couple drivers on the inside that are still very nervous because anything can happen and there are a couple drivers on the outside looking in that will be coming like hungry hounds trying to take those two spots away. So again, Richmond is the last race of the regular season, which means there is one to go. That's exactly what a driver wants hear Saturday night under the lights a Richmond, especially if he or she is leading!

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